Refrigerator latch mechanism



June 23,1942. s. w. PARSONS REFRIGERATOR LATCH MECHANISM Filed July 50,1940 v 3 1 vow/WW STUART WPAHSONS Patented June 23, 1942 EtEFREGERATORLATCH MECI'llANlSM Stuart W. Parsons, New Britain, Conn, assignor to TheStanley Works, New Britain, Conn., a corporation of ConnecticutApplication July 30, 1940, Serial No. 348,462

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to refrigerator latches and moreparticularly to arefrigerator latchhaving an improved mechanismconnecting the latch and the handle for manually retract- 7 ing thelatch bolt to unlatched position.

In refrigerator latches it is customary to mount the latch in the doorand to mount the manually operable handle for retracting the latch bolton the outer wall or panel of the door. Inasmuch as the door panelseparates the latch and handle an opening must be provided thereinthrough which a suitable mechanism or linkage must extend to operablyconnect the latch mechanism to the bolt retracting handle.

Hereto fore, it has been difficult to seal the opening the panel againstair flow and the consequent loss of refrigerator economy resultingtherefrom.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an improvedlatch assembly wherein the mechanism connecting the latch and the handleeffectively seals the opening through which it extends.

A iurther object is to provide a mechanism of this type which is smoothin its action, operates with a minimum of effort, and is simple andcheap to manufacture and install.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more indetail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of theapplication of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 illustrates a plan View of a latch assembly made in accordancewith the present invention mounted on a door panel;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the mechanism shown in Figure l whichextends through the door panel and connects the latch and handle;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken through line 33 of Fig. 2 andshows the handle and retracting mechanism in latched position; and

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional View taken through line l--4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing there is illustrated generally a refrigeratorlatch assembly mounted on a door panel D and including a frame Fsupported inwardly on the door panel; a latch bolt B reciprocablymounted in the frame; a toggle T for retractably holding the bolt inlatching position; a manually operable handle I-I mounted outwardly onthe door panel; and a retractin outer ends a mounting flange M.

in the side walls of the bolt support.

mechanism which extends through .an opening or aperture A in the paneland operably connects the handle and the toggle.

Referring to Figure 1, the frame F comprises a bolt :guideway lb ofrectangular cross section having reciprocably supported in -its upperend a latch bolt B. A pair of spaced supporting arms i2 extend outwardlyfrom the center and lower end of the guideway and carry between theirThe frame is fixedly secured in the door D by fastening the flange Hi tothe door panel D with a headed bolt 16 and cooperating nut l8.Tightening of the nut l8 draws the head '26 of the bolt 15 against theflange M with sufiicient pressure to seal the opening 22 in the panelthrough which the bolt extends, thus preventing any undesirable air flowtherethrough.

The toggle T for securing the latch bolt in latching position comprisesan upper toggle link 24 pivotally connected at its upper end by a pin 26to the bolt 23 and provided at its lower end with an elongated slot 3i!pivotally supported on a center pin 32 carried by the upper end of alower toggle link 34. The low end of the link 34 is 'pivotally supportedon a stud 36 secured A light spring 38 is located centrally on the stud36 and is compressed between the link 34 and the frame F whereby theformer is normally urged in a clockwise direction to the positionillustrated in Fig. 1. To normally urge the bolt to latching positionthere is provided on the upper toggle link 24 a heavy spring 40compressed between the center pin 32 and the link shoulder 35 wherebythe bolt is forced to the uppermost position permitted by the elongatedslot 30.

In order to operably journal the handle H, there is provided a mountingplate 42 having a pair of outwardly extending spaced cars 44 in whichthere is secured a pin 46 for pivotally supporting the handle. Asindicated in the drawing, the mounting plate is secured to the doorpanel D by the bolt I6 and nut I8. A light spring 48 is located on thepin 46 and is compressed between the handle and the mounting plate,whereby the handle is normally urged in a counterclockwise direction tolatched position, as illustrated in Fig. 3. Handle H includes the usualhand grip 50 and is provided with a short inwardly extending leveroffset 52 operably engageable with a radially extending shoulder 54provided on a rocking shaft 56.

The rocking shaft 56 extends through the aperture A in the door panel D,and to prevent air flow therethrough a bushing 60 is press-fitted intothe aperture and is provided with a bearing opening 62 just sufficientlylarge to rotatably support the rocking shaft. To prevent axial movementof the shaft in the bushing and to more effectively seal the bushingopening against air flow, a snap Washer 64 is secured in acircumferential groove in the shaft. A tongue or key 66 formed on theinner end of the shaft 56 is located in a mating groove or keyway B8 ina retracting lever 10. The retracting lever is pivotally supported inaxial alignment with the rocking shaft on a support 12 secured to theframe. To connect the retracting lever to the latch for retraction ofthe latch bolt, a rod 14 connects toggle link 34 and retracting lever byhook and eye connections 16 provided at both ends of the rod.

As heretofore indicated the bolt is normally urged to latching positionby the heavy spring 40 and the light toggle spring 38. To retract thebolt the handle grip 50 is pulled outwardly and the offset lever 52engages the rocking shaft radially extending lever 54 and rotates theshaft in a counter-clockwise direction (see Fig. 2). The rocking shaftkey 66 thereupon rotates the retracting lever 10 in the same directionand the rod 14 draws the toggle link 34 outwardly to break the toggleand retract the latch bolt.

A latch of the construction and operation indicated prevents air flowthrough the aperture A through which the retracting mechanism extendsand in addition, provides a smooth acting and easily operated retractingmechanism which eliminates any tendencies of the latch to jam or stick.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the followingclaims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features ofthe invention herein described and all statements of the scope of theinvention which, as a matter of language, might be said to falltherebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. A refrigerator latch including a latch bolt operably mounted in theinterior of a refrigerator door, an operating handle mounted on theexterior of a door for pivotal movement in a plane at right angles tosaid door, and means operably connecting the handle and the latch boltand including a bushing ress-fitted into an aperture in the door toprevent air fiow between the door and the fitting, a rock shaftrotatably journalled in the bushing and having a close fit therein toreduce air flow therethrough to a minimum, a snap washer on said shaftand located'on the shaft in a position to abut against the inner face ofthe bushing to thereby further reduce the air flow to a minimum, anoperable connection between the handle and the rock shaft exterior ofthe door and comprising an offset on the handle engageable with ashoulder extending laterally from the rock shaft and parallel to theface of the door, and an operable connection between the rock shaft andthe bolt on the interior of the door.

2. A refrigerator latch including a bolt supported on the interior of adoor, a handle operably mounted on the exterior of the door for pivotalmovement in a plane at right angles to said door, means for operativelyconnecting the handle to the bolt and including a bushing having anairtight fitting in an aperture in the door, a shaft extending throughsaid bushing and rotatably journalled therein, the tolerance betweensaid bushing and shaft being such as to permit rotation of the shaftwhile reducing air flow therethrough to a minimum, an operableconnection between the handle and the rock shaft exterior of the doorand comprising an offset on the handle engageable with a shoulderextending laterally from the rock shaft and parallel to the face of thedoor, and an operable connection between the rock shaft and the bolt onthe interior of the door.

STUART W. PARSONS.

